DodoGo! Robo Review (DSiWare)

With two games already available on DSiWare — DodoGo! and DodoGo! Challenge — you'd be forgiven for thinking that each DodoGo! game is simply a level pack expansion to the previous game. This was true for the second title, Challenge, but things are a bit different here, as while the first two titles were very similar to Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, this newest instalment is closer to the newer Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem.

The goal in the game is still the simple: get the eggs to the exit. The eggs can move around themselves, so you don't need to worry about that. What you do need to worry about is getting them past pits, fire and other hazards, which is done by placing a variety of objects before getting them to move. In the first two games, there were usually multiple eggs which you could order to move or stop at any time.

In this one, however, there's always only one egg and, as the title implies, it's a robotic one. What this means is that when you're ready to go, it will begin moving on its own and cannot be stopped. Of course, since there's just one egg to deal with this time, that's not much of an issue, but it's still an important gameplay change as it means you must place all of the objects at your disposal before giving the sign to your egg that he can start moving, rather than placing them as you go along.

The objects themselves are still the same, so you'll be placing planks they can walk across (or bounce into and turn around), installing springs that propel them away, creating fire to burn wood, cutting ropes or wood with saws and digging or placing dirt with a shovel. If you're simply looking to get your egg to the exit, then usually you won't need all of these.

However, scattered throughout each level are a bunch of "targets," of which you must collect a decent number to unlock further levels, so it's usually a good idea to try for a perfect score if you want to see everything the game has to offer. There's no cutting corners with that, though; you'll need every single object you have, and they'll have to be placed perfectly. The game also introduces you to each of the items, in case you haven't played the previous two games.

Aside from turning your eggs and instructor into robots, DodoGo! Robo doesn't really look or sound much different. The levels still have the same general look to them and there's only one piece of music that plays during all levels, which is quite unfortunate. It's quite a long song, but it only really starts to get catchy much later on, which means you're not likely to hear it well if you're blazing through the levels.

Unlike the previous games, there are no bonus levels here, so it's a pretty straightforward affair. Since you're only ever paying attention to one egg, it's also rather easy most of the time, which we don't mind at all, considering it's quite fun as well.